Overseas Players Category 3 and 3 Exempt 2017

For the 2017 season there will be a new system for registration of all Overseas players (Including Overseas Exempt players).

All historical Overseas players and Overseas Exempt players have had their ESL registrations from play cricket removed so we are starting from a blank sheet of paper.

As a reminder clubs should be aware of what constitutes an English qualified player:-

Subject to the overriding discretion of the ECB, acting with the consent of the International Cricket Council, a Cricketer will only be qualified to play for England in a Test Match or in a One Day International Match if:

(a) he is either a British citizen or an Irish citizen; and

(b1) he was born within England and Wales; or

(b2) he has been resident in England and Wales for the immediately preceding four consecutive years if his residence commenced prior to his 18th birthday and or seven years if his residence in England and Wales commenced after his 18th birthday; and

(c) he has not during the immediately preceding four consecutive years either:

(i) played cricket for any ICC Full Member Country outside the EEA at U17 level or above, or

(ii) played First Class Cricket in any such Full Member Country except as an overseas cricketer under local rules

(d) In the case of a Cricketer seeking to become qualified through residency above he will (until he has become qualified to play for England) only be treated as having been resident within England and Wales for the relevant consecutive period if he has spent a minimum of 210 days in each year within England and Wales (for which purpose "year" shall mean a year ending 31st March).

If clubs have overseas or overseas exempt players to register for the 2017 season they need to follow the below process for each player whether he has previously played in the ESL or not:-

1. Read the two attached pdf documents and set of slides from the ECB which explain the intricacies of the immigration status of overseas cricketers.
2. Fill in the attached overseas player registration form and get all parties to sign and send the completed scanned form as a pdf to Tom Clarke - tpc1981@hotmail.com
3. Register the overseas or overseas exempt player on play-cricket in the usual way and ensure all the details and dates match the form that you submit to the league â€“ this registration will be left as pending in the system and will only be approved following successful submission of the overseas player registration form.

A few reminders:-

1. Clubs can register as many overseas or overseas exempt players as they like, however they must follow the regulations regarding the number of overseas players in a team as described in ESL Rules.
2. No overseas or overseas exempt player is allowed to play in the league or T20 cup until they have successfully submitted their registration form and been registered on play cricket.
3. All overseas players must be registered by midnight of Friday 9th June.
4. Clubs are wholly responsible for ensuring that all overseas players registered to play in the ESL have the correct visa and are not in breach of their visa by playing cricket in the ESL.

If clubs have any questions related to the immigration status of an overseas player they should direct these to the ECB specialist department on the following email address - managedmigration@ecb.co.uk

For any queries related to league registration or regulations please email myself and I will get back to you.